Weekly Bulletin Board

J. R. Alcorn was the first person in the USA to do extensive research on, and to develop the techniques of, predator calling in the USA. Beginning in February of 1942, Ray got a hand-made call from Sidney O. Curtis of Ely Nevada and some basic lessons on how to use it. Fascinated, Ray, over the next two years, intensely tested and modified calls. Ray developed predator calling techniques which are the calling techniques we use today.

In May of 1946, Ray published the first article he and I have been able to find about predator calling in the USA, entitled "Decoying Coyotes." This article predated by four years any other article I have ever seen published in the USA on predator calling.

Ray’s article and techniques were revolutionary at the time. The USF&WS Predator and Rodent Control branch sent him all over the West to teach his methods to government trappers and to others.

Who was the man who got varmint hunting (by calling) started? Ray Alcorn. There were others who were calling and others who were more public and commercially developed the sport beginning in 1949-51, but Ray lead the way.

In the 20 years before Ray died, he wrote a book about his life with coyotes. He died before it was completed. I agreed to edit and finish Ray’s book. The 362-page book is now available from us.

Ray’s book is really unique because it covers the management of coyotes from the 1940s to the 1990s and includes chapters on the life history; censusing; decoying (calling); howling and coyote communications; poisoning with Coyote Getters, strychnine, and 1080; denning; aerial gunning; the history of the government’s programs; the old-style trapping methods; bait making; skinning and fur handling techniques; and lots of other unique gems of interest to coyote hunters and trappers. Many of these techniques are useful today.

In 1972, when the animal rights folks were appointed to the Department of the Interior, the government called in all of the government trappers’ diaries and papers, which described the facts and benefits of intensive coyote control to ranchers and big game hunters, and destroyed them. Ray refused to surrender his papers, so his reminiscences are included in this book.

Whether you loved or hated government-sponsored coyote control from the past or present, you need to read this book for perspective and the facts. Ray was a meticulous scientific pro who told the truth—no exaggeration or good/bad lectures.

Dr. Boddicker has edited Ray’s book for organization, structure, and to clarify the significance of Ray’s writing contributions.

Coyote Man has lots of unique and original photos of coyote control and hunting from the 1940s to the '90s.

Boddicker and Bob Noonan (cartoonist) teamed up to add lots of cartoons, which emphasize Ray’s experiences and humor. Ray’s book is great wildlife management history without the politically correct B.S. so abundant in contemporary writing.

The early recollections of growing up in the Owens Valley near Big Pine, California, between 1915 and 1929 are detailed in Tinnemaha. Ray chronicles his family's odyssey, which began in Monticello, Kentucky, in 1885; they moved to Kansas, then Colorado, then to California in the days before the automobile.

Full of personal triumphs and tragedies, Ray's story is fascinating. Ray's father, William Harrison Alcorn, was a talented outdoorsman in his own right. He trapped and hunted coyotes, deer, big horn sheep, and fished trout to feed his family through the early 20th Century and Great Depression.

Published in 1988, Birds of Nevada is a classic record of the history and sightings of bird species observed in Nevada. Ray was an avid birder who compiled his own observations and those of others into this hefty chronicle.

Definitely focused at professional and amateur birders and ornithologists, Birds of Nevada is a classic work of a classic mind. This book is a must-buy for birders of the Great Basin and collectors of Ray Alcorn's works.

Once again, the coyote doctors have taken you to western South Dakota for exciting predator calling action. However, this video manages to do even more instruction and teaching without sacrificing any of the realism or suspense that Coyote Overdose provided. By again providing temperatures, wind speeds, compass readings, yardage to the coyotes, slow- motion replays and even time on stands until sighting the coyotes, this video has all the tools to make any level of predator hunting more successful. However, no one likes to listen to long-winded narrative during a hunting video, so they have kept the concept of taking the viewer along on the hunt. You will feel like you are experiencing everything right along with the Doctors. The best part is they had so much quality footage and so many exciting hunts, they had to include a bonus disc to share everything they wanted to include in this video. That means you get over 40 hunts filled with non-stop action and spectacular video footage.

Polished and Unpolished Cow Horns

Need a good megaphone horn to use with your Crit'R•Call Standard, Song Dog Jr., or the Magnum call? Try a McDonalds medium-sized paper coffee cup. Punch a hole in the bottom for the call, insert a Crit'R•Call and Voila! It works great and the price is right! It seems to have just the right qualities to get the coyotes' attention.

Teting the Market Announcement--Call Turkey Calls

Would you be interested in a custom-made and tuned cedar box turkey call hand crafted by Dan Boddicker of Tipton, Iowa? Brother Dan is a life-long hunter and ex-Iowa legislator who was a guardian of Iowa’s gun and hunting rights for 8 years. He has a musician’s ear for making and tuning turkey calls. The tone and pitch of his calls are super. The cost will be $85 + $5 for postage. Less than 100 of these calls will be made per year. These will be the only turkey calls with the Crit’R•Call logo on them.

If interested, send us a note or E-mail message. If you want to order one and get one of the first 100 calls, call or E-mail the order with your credit card number.

Crit’R•Call has updated its products, packaging, and instructional materials . The Standard and PeeWee calls come in small clamshell packages for dealers, and now each contains a greater selection of reeds. The new Standard and PeeWee booklets are smaller, yet contains the same great instructional materials as before.